Education Week reporter Christina A. Samuels tracks news and trends of interest to the special education community, including administrators, teachers, and parents.

"Twice-Exceptional" Gifted Study

The University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. and four St.Paul-area school districts are embarking on a study that will help educators learn the best ways to teach gifted children who also have learning disabilities.

Raising children with learning barriers is a task in itself, "but when they're bright and gifted and have a high IQ, it's even more frustrating, because the teachers just don't understand how to work with these kids," said Bloomington parent Chelle Woolley, whose 17-year-old son, Matt, was in fifth grade when he tested out for both giftedness and attention deficit disorder.

A growing awareness of so-called "twice-exceptional" or "2X" students, many of whom qualify for both gifted and special education services, is prompting some researchers to take a closer look at their needs.

The topic of twice-exceptional students also came up during an online chat I moderated last week on the evolving definition of giftedness. This is a must-read for those interested in gifted education.

Other interesting resources include my colleague Debra Viadero's 1995 story on twice-exceptional students. Also, Education Week hosted a chat on giftedness in 2007 that is also a good source of information.

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1 Comment

Twice exceptional kids were the biggest challenge early on in my career. I really wish I could track down the first two I had and apologize for fumbling through in those early years. Answering the question of how to best feed a very hungry brain without the use of traditional text is challenging. I have drawn on Multiple Intelligences, Audio books and the computer. I finally feel comfortable teaching this group, but it was a learning curve. I am so glad they are getting some attention from researchers.